The Addicted Gardener: The buzz about the bees

By Donna Lane, Columnist

Thursday

Apr 11, 2019 at 8:00 AM

It’s the first week of April and a Nor’easter has been predicted. Luckily, it fizzled and we didn’t have a storm like the April 1st blizzard of 1997 when heavy snow blanketed the area. I don’t pretend to understand current weather patterns, El Nino or the science of climate change. It’s easier to chalk up weather events to Mother Nature neuroticism. But, as gardeners, we need to pay close attention to these changes because they will affect the way we garden in the future.

This is where keeping a journal really helps. I’ve reviewed my entries for the first week of April for the past four years. The events are very similar to what is occurring this year. For example, once again I am inundated with ground bees. I’ll have to proceed carefully in the back yard because there are thousands of them buzzing about.

The first year I found them I called an exterminator who charged a pretty penny to kill them. After some investigation, I realized I had made a mistake.

A mistake because these bees are beneficial insects; they destroy harmful insects and also play an important role as pollinators. They’re not aggressive and I can work in the area without fear of being stung, but their presence is sometimes unnerving and does set me back a couple of weeks. Nesting activity is limited to spring, also, so the bees don’t stay for long — about 4 to 6 weeks at most.

There are a number of bees that nest in the ground including digger bees, sweat bees and mining bees. Ground bees are solitary creatures. The female excavates her nest in dry soil, mounding the loose soil around the nest. The nests look like ant hills! She then provides the nest with pollen and nectar for her offspring. While these female ground bees can sting, they rarely do so unless threatened. The males that hover over the nests looking for potential mates can behave aggressively, but they do not have stingers.

Not all ground bees are non-aggressive, however. Bumble bees and yellow jackets also nest in the ground, but they typically use abandoned rodent burrows rather than excavate new ones. Bumblebees and yellow jackets also live in social colonies and, unlike the solitary ground bees, will aggressively defend their nests, so make sure to identify what you have before you take action. This is what I wish I had done before hiring the exterminator. It turns out that I had (and have) digger bees.

If you are worried about these bees in your yard and want to get rid of them, consider this. They always nest in dry soil and avoid damp soil when choosing their nesting sites. So, the easiest and least toxic method of controlling them is simply to water the area, soaking it with an inch of water each week. This will discourage the burrowing females and make them relocate to drier ground. I’ll talk about how to discourage other critters — white tail deer, rabbits, moles and voles and woodchucks — next time.

Donna Lane owns Lane Interiors and Gardens, is a master gardener, past president of the Norwood Evening Garden Club, and an active member of many other horticultural organizations. You can reach Donna at AddictedGardener@verizon.net.